The swarms of bats still trying to press forward were instantly torn to shreds by Zorn’s barrage of Magic Balls.

Zorn’s attacks even continued to expand outward, showing signs of a counter-offensive.

Just as he was bombarding the bats...

An outline of Shadow Power formed against the wide wall. The petals of a giant, shadowy flower rapidly began to close in on Zorn.

At the same time, Zorn noticed his surroundings growing darker and more indistinct.

Even his spellcasting efficiency had dropped significantly.

It was the Other Shore Flower: Shadow Cage.

A Middle Rank Level Forbidden Curse that bloomed with the power of the Shadow Dimension.

It could suppress and seal an enemy, causing them to die in their sleep.

Just as the dim and hazy Other Shore Flower: Shadow Cage was about to imprison Zorn...

Zorn gave a light push forward.

Within the silhouette on the wall, seven or eight of the petals could be seen withering and decaying instantly.

Zorn easily broke free from the imprisonment of the Other Shore Flower: Shadow Cage.

The Eternal Calamity Whip was, after all, a Divine Skill for interruption.

"This..."

The beautiful, ghostly figure within the swarm of bats was slightly taken aback.

She clearly hadn’t expected a mere Level Four Evil Energy Mage to actually break free from her Other Shore Flower: Shadow Cage.

After blasting a few more Shadow Bats to death...

Zorn stomped down hard. Though it looked like an ordinary stomp, it was infused with the power of the Sun.

PSHHHT!

The invisible Shadow Curtain that had been blocking Zorn’s descent was easily pierced by the Sun Power.

With another Shadow Jump, his figure arrived directly at the lowest level of the Shadow Cellar—the same floor he had just entered from.

He sprinted all the way through the sealed entrance.

Turning back, he quickly took out a black candle, lit it, and began rapidly chanting the Spell to close the Sealing Gate.

At the same time...

Back where Zorn had landed, the graceful figure of the Blood Race member also descended lightly. Viscous Shadow Power and Shadow Bats billowed out from around her, filling the surrounding space.

But she didn’t give chase. Instead, she just watched Zorn, who was shrouded in Black Mist, with a cold gaze.

Their eyes met and held until... the Sealing Gate closed once more.

CLANK CLANK CLANK...

With the Sealing Gate successfully shut, Zorn raised a hand and gently rubbed the bridge of his nose.

’She didn’t follow?’

’It seems... she sensed something after all.’

’Inside the castle, she has the home-field advantage. Killing her would probably be a bit difficult.’

’But once she’s outside, it’s a different story.’

’The moment my Domain unfolds, what does being Level Six matter? I can still crush you!’

’It’s good she didn’t follow. Saves me a lot of trouble.’

Zorn shook his head.

Many of the Transcendents who had entered this time were Level 5; there were quite a few experts.

A fight that was too intense would expose too much.

It wouldn’t be good if someone figured out his identity.

’Time to go!’

Activating his Invisibility Cloak, Zorn prepared to head to the dense forest outside to carry out his main objective for entering the Shadow Castle: hunt ten Level 4 Shadow Blood Race members!

......

「About half a day later.」

Zorn finally passed through the Far Traveler’s Gate and arrived back at the underground chamber where he had first started.

And at this moment...

Lady Sun.

Miss Isabelle was waiting here.

Besides them, there were also staff from the Blood Shadow Rose.

That Middle Rank Level Witch expert was here as well.

Zorn went to a nearby stone table and laid out several metal boxes one by one.

A total of eleven Level 4 Crystal Cores.

Four Level 5 Crystal Cores.

A total of fifteen, exceeding the mission requirement.

"Not bad!"

Lady Sun said with a warm smile after inspecting them one by one.

"A pity it’s not the highest count, though!"

"Oh?"

Zorn raised an eyebrow slightly.

Whether he came in first or not didn’t matter to Zorn.

These Crystal Cores were just from the Blood Race members he killed using Fighting Master techniques while roaming the deep jungle.

If he’d wanted to, he could have easily killed many more.

"Who killed the most?"

Zorn asked curiously.

"It was that fellow, Purick."

Isabelle walked over from the side and replied.

"The genius from the Sun Church who wields Sun Power."

Zorn nodded slightly.

The Sun Sequence was a powerful counter to the Shadow Sequence.

It was perfectly normal for him to have killed more.

Having come over to his side, Isabelle curiously sized up Zorn’s few Level 5 Blood Race Crystal Cores.

She had gone in too.

She had also fought against the Shadow Blood Race.

As a Level 4, she could still hold the upper hand against Shadow Blood Race members of the same Level.

But once she encountered a Level 5 Blood Race expert, she found it difficult to contend with them.

Level 5 Blood Race members had often condensed a "Noble Blood Crown." With a Noble Blood Crown, their Sequence’s strength would increase dramatically.

She could barely hold her own against a Level 5 Baron Blood Race member. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Against a Level 5 Viscount Blood Race member, her only option was to flee.

Fortunately, the Wanderer Sequence was extremely good at long-distance escapes.

Those Level 5 Viscount Blood Race members couldn’t catch her.

In the end, she only managed to obtain three Level 4 Blood Race Crystal Cores before getting injured and stopping her hunt.

And now, looking at the Level 5 Blood Race Sequence Crystal Cores Zorn had brought back...

Two of the Sequence Crystal Cores had a single blood-red line.

The other two Sequence Crystal Cores had two blood-red lines.

That meant two Level 5 Barons and two Level 5 Viscounts.

Everyone else who had come out was more or less injured.

But this Fighting Master before her, a Level 4 who had fought Level 5s, didn’t seem injured at all.

’It’s not that he’s uninjured.’

Isabelle noticed a few details.

The clothing on Zorn’s arm was torn.

His Invisibility Cloak also showed some signs of instability.

’The Fighting Master was injured too. It’s just that his recovery ability is incredible, so he only looks unhurt.’

It was just as the observant Isabelle had noticed.

How could a Fighting Master not get injured in close-quarters combat?

It was just that after getting injured during a fight, Zorn could completely recover what he’d lost from his enemies’ corpses.

Although the Sequence’s will had died, the Life Force within the flesh and blood would linger for a while.

During that time, Zorn could still absorb it.

What’s more, he had Level 1 Life Absorption.

He could also draw Life Force from the surrounding trees.

Zorn remembered that in the hidden Chapters about "Zorn Corick," it was recorded that when he was in a sorry state, he could only recover by eating trees, and devouring more than ten trees a day was nothing to him.

"For someone of a Close Combat Sequence, obtaining this many Sequence Crystal Cores is already quite impressive."

"Later, in the car, I will give you what you need. And it will be a portion sufficient to satisfy you."

Lady Sun said in a soft, natural voice.

"Thank you, Lady Sun."

Zorn said, giving his thanks.

Understanding her unspoken meaning, he pulled a folded envelope from an inner pocket of his cloak and handed it to Isabelle, who was standing beside him.

"Remember to burn this after you’re done reading."

As Isabelle took the envelope, a flicker of joy welled up in the depths of her bright eyes.

’If I can digest the Sun King’s Golden Skeleton and gain its powerful recovery ability, my Gray Mist Walker Sequence will be greatly enhanced.’

Just as Isabelle was filled with joy, fantasizing about her bright future...

Zorn’s voice slowly rang out.

"Also... don’t digest too much of the Golden Skeleton."

"Otherwise... the Sun King’s will shall fester inside of you."

"Once it does, it will be a very troublesome matter."

Zorn’s words caused the beaming smile on Isabelle’s face to retract slightly.

"Thank you for your warning. I will be careful!"